Schefter on D&C: Not an easy game for Pats

Wed, 11/24/2010 - 10:57am — Jerry Spar

ESPN's Adam Schefter checked in for his weekly appearance on the Dennis & Callahan show Wednesday morning to talk about news from around the NFL.

Asked which of the three Thanksgiving Day games is most likely to provide an upset, Schefter pointed to the Patriots-Lions matchup. "I think that New England is going to have a tough game," he said. "That's not going to be an easy matchup. If you watch the Lions this year, they play everybody — everybody — tough, and they always find a way to screw it up. Always."

Looking at the Jets, Schefter said he isn't convinced Mark Sanchez has earned his place among the NFL's elite quarterbacks yet, despite his late-game heroics the last two weeks. "There's still a nagging doubt in my mind with the consistency factor," Schefter said. "I think that when you want to be talked about with the top quarterbacks in the game, there has to be an element of consistency, which, to me, is the only thing he's been lacking. At times he's looked very, very good. And he's gotten better and better and better. He looks like he's going to be a big-time quarterback in this league. And I am a Mark Sanchez fan. But I just think he needs some more consistency right now, that's all."

Schefter said Vikings owner Zygi Wilf should have fired coach Brad Childress a month ago instead of waiting until this week. "The truth of the matter is [Wilf] messed it up. He should have done it a month ago," Schefter said. "Look what happened in Dallas when they made the move — they won two games. [The Vikings] were heading into a key stretch of games against the NFC North — at Chicago, home for Green Bay. He debated making the move on the Monday that Brad Childress was telling his team that he was waiving Randy Moss. That was November 1st. Since then, they've played three games, they've gone 1-2. Had they won those games against the division teams instead of losing by a cumulative score of 58-16, this team would still be alive.

"Now, I'm not going to tell you that going to Leslie Frazier would have won both games, but I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt that the team would have been a lot more competitive with Leslie Frazier as its head coach. Zygi Wilf waited too long."

Looking at the situation in Tennessee, where Titans coach Jeff Fisher and quarterback Vince Young had a fallout, Schefter said he wouldn't be surprised to see the two reunited next season, after Young returns from his season-ending thumb injury and emotions are back in check. "Jeff Fisher's a good coach. And Vince Young can be a good quarterback. Who are you going to get that's better, in either case?" Schefter asked.